Blacks' dislike of Bush comes across as personal

Published on: 10/20/04

Tasha Gulley's grandma always voted.

Sometimes, Gulley tagged along.

• Read letters • Respond to a column

One of the first things Gulley did when she turned 18 was register to vote in her hometown of Camden, Ark.

"It was one of the first things I did when I got here, too," said Gulley, who cast an absentee ballot Wednesday at the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center. "I vote every chance I get, especially with what blacks had to go through to get that right."

Domestic issues -- stuff that historically has motivated black voters -- aren't framing the 2004 presidential campaign.

The Iraq War and terrorism are.

That doesn't mean blacks won't show up Nov. 2. Black folk I chat up in barbershops and doughnut lines can't wait to help elect the next president of the United States. Their eagerness seems more personal than political.

Blacks, generally, despise George W. Bush. There's just something about the Texan -- aside from his party and ideology -- that turns blacks off, and have them itching for a replacement.

You hear it in their voices when they talk about Bush, and you see it in their contorted faces when they say his name.

Bush has named three black lieutenants to his Cabinet. Bill Clinton -- jokingly called the first "black president" -- didn't even do that. Yet the appointments have earned Bush little, if any, respect from AfricanAmericans.

And that $15 billion Bush has committed to fighting the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa?

May as well be $15.

Last election, Bush pocketed the lowest fraction of the black vote since Barry Goldwater. Exit polls have shown that, in 2000, Dubya carried between 8 percent and 10 percent of African-American votes.

A Washington Post poll taken Oct. 18-20 asked respondents who they would vote for if the election were held today. Eleven percent of blacks surveyed chose Bush-Cheney. Eighty-five percent preferred Kerry-Edwards.

Gulley, a 32-year-old registered nurse from Dacula, said she looks at the candidate, not the party when choosing a president. But the laughter that succeeded that claim -- and her admitted vote for Kerry -- exposed the truth.

"I won't say that Kerry is the best person, but I just despise George Bush," said Gulley, also a Clinton supporter. "Ugh. It hurt when he got in there last time. They had his father in there and didn't re-elect him. Why put the son in?"

Gulley voted on an absentee ballot because she'll be out of town Election Day. She's going to Arkansas, and she's planning on telling Grandma how she followed her fine example.

Gulley already has fulfilled her civic duty.

• Rick Badie's column appears on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. He can be reached by e-mail at rbadie@ajc.com or by calling 770-263-3875.